You and I (Playing Along)
by sartiebodyshots
Summary: Someone won't let Kurt say no to going to the dance with him, so Kurt blurts out that he's dating someone. He ropes Scott into playing along.
1. Chapter 1

"I'm already dating someone, sorry!" Kurt says, yelling to the guy who had been relentlessly pursuing him for weeks now. He turns around the corner in a hurry and doesn't notice Scott coming the other way until it's too late. They run into each other, but they manage to straighten themselves out without too much fuss, even with Kurt apologizing profusely in both English and German.

"Don't worry, Kurt," Scott soothes. "Just try to watch where you're going."

"Ja, I will," Kurt promises.

He tries to dart around Scott, but he doesn't let him by. "Hold on now, what's this you were yelling about dating somebody?" he asks. Scott is surprised that he hasn't any clue who Kurt might be dating.

Kurt looks back around the corner and sees Derek coming towards them. Crap. "Later!" he says hurriedly. There's no one else in the hall, so he bamfs into the locker room since he has P.E. next anyway, leaving Scott absolutely baffled and alone in the hallway.

"Hey, have you seen Kurt?" some kid Scott doesn't really know asks him.

Scott shakes his head, opting for discretion over honesty. The kid grumbles and turns back down the hall. It's all kind of strange, and Scott decides to make a point of talking to Kurt ASAP.

Scott drives them all home from school that day, and Kurt sits nervously in the back completely silent. Not even a single joke. Now Scott is definitely unsettled.

"I've got something to show you when we get home, Kurt, okay? So don't teleport off," Scott instructs. He catches Kurt's nod from the back and feels relieved. They'll be able to get to the bottom of this soon.

When they get back to the Institute, everyone else dashes off while Kurt slumps down in the backseat. Scott turns to look at him and raises an eyebrow. "Do you want to explain about earlier?" he says.

"Not really," Kurt says, shrugging. "It's totally under control; I'm handling things, don't even-"

"Kurt," Scott says firmly.

Kurt sighs and bamfs into the front seat next to Scott. "This guy at school won't leave me alone about going to the dance, so I just said I was dating someone and going with them," he explains.

"A nice firm no would probably have done the trick," Scott says. He knows that when it comes to people he isn't comfortable with, Kurt can get a little timid.

"It's been weeks, Scott! He's gotten all kinds of nos," Kurt says before sinking down into his seat looking miserable. "The only other thing I could think of was scaring him off with my real face, but that'd expose us."

"What are you going to do? You don't actually have a date, right?" Scott asks.

"Don't remind me! I've just gotta find someone who will play along," Kurt says, wracking his brain for likely candidates.

"Good luck," Scott says, getting out of the car. He's relieved to know that nothing too serious is going on. From here on out, he'll keep an eye on this Derek- presumably the kid who ran into him earlier- just to make sure that things didn't get too out of hand.

"Wait… Scott!" Kurt exclaims, leaping over the hood of the car to block Scott's path. "Would you play along?'

"What? Me? You want me to be your fake boyfriend?" Scott asks, taken aback. Why would Kurt ask him to be his fake date?

"Yeah! It's perfect!" Kurt says, bouncing excitedly from foot to foot. "We're really good friends, so it makes a lot of sense! Plus, you're super responsible, so you wouldn't forget. It'd be like an undercover mission!"

Scott bites his lip and thinks it over. It's a weird request, and one that their housemates are going to mock them mercilessly for. But on the other hand, he likes Kurt and this seems important to him. Plus, if someone is bothering Kurt, it's Scott's duty as team leader to do whatever he can to help. As far as undercover ops went, this would probably be the easiest, right? Still, he's more than a little surprised when he nods and says, "Of course I will, Kurt."


	2. Chapter 2

Kurt instantly grabs Scott's arm and in a moment they're in Kurt's room. Settling on the bed, Kurt starts staring at Scott very intensely.

"What?" Scott says. Kurt's gaze is making him uncomfortable.

"I'm trying to figure out what we'll need to figure out to make this work," Kurt explains. "You're usually a good inspiration for things that require lots of planning." Whenever Kurt had to be responsible, he thought about what Scott would do and how he would plan it. Of course, it usually went bad real fast, but that was on Kurt, not Scott.

"The first step is to tell everyone here, so they don't freak out when they hear rumors at school," Scott declares. He doesn't need a scene on his hands. This is supposed to be low key after all.

"Oh, they're not going to hear rumors about it," Kurt says. "They're gonna see it. Nobody will believe it if we just say we're dating, and that guy won't get off my back about it."

"So we have to be super dating?" Scott asks.

Kurt nods. "We'll be super dating superheroes," he says, smiling. "Except everyone will know about the dating part."

"First things first, we have to decide how we started dating," Scott says. "It only makes sense to say that I asked you, so that way it doesn't look like you were trying to get away from him."

"Good idea," Kurt says, scooting a little closer to Scott. "So, how would you ask me out?"

Scott sputters for a moment. He hasn't asked anyone out in forever. Things have been a little hectic between learning how to control his optic blasts and becoming a good team leader. Plus, he wanted to avoid the awkward conversation about why he could literally never take off his glasses. People found it strange enough when he wore them all the time at school; Scott didn't want to think about what they'd say if they found out he wore them to sleep or if they playfully tried to take them off of him. It's stressful and not the kind of stress Scott knows how to handle.

Kurt is still staring at him excitedly, so Scott has to try to cobble something together quickly. "Well… I'd take you out to the forest or somewhere secluded so you wouldn't have to use your image inducer. Then I'd tell you all the things I like about you and after that, I'd ask you out."

There is a pause while Kurt just looks at him and Scott is worried that he's said something wrong already and Kurt is regretting asking him to be his fake date. "You'd really do it like that?" he asks.

"Yes. Is there something wrong with it?" Scott asks.

Kurt shakes his head. Honestly, he's just kind of blown away. Don't get him wrong, he loves people, but he always figured that anyone who dated him would be more comfortable if he wore his image inducer whenever possible. After all, his image induced self is pretty cute, if he does say so himself. Plus, it's normal looking, which Kurt isn't. "No, Scott, it's perfect," Kurt says shakily.

"Are you sure?" Scott wants to be sure since Kurt sounds a little strange.

"I am sure!" Kurt says, and this time he sounds normal.

Scott smiles at Kurt, pleased that his plan has Kurt's approval. This is going to be a smooth mission. "Can you think of anything else that we'll need to plan out?" he asks. There are a few more things that Scott can think of, but considering this is also a low risk mission, he wants Kurt to get some experience in figuring these things out as well.

"When you asked me and then we should probably talk about our fake relationship," Kurt says after a moment. "Like, do you mind holding hands in the hall if I wear gloves? Do you want me to carry your books to class? Uhm…" He thinks hard to try to come up with anything else that he needs to figure out with Scott. "I don't want either of us to be uncomfortable, but we've also got to look convincing."

"Excellent start!" Scott said proudly. "Although, Kurt, if we're going to hold hands- and we probably should- you don't have to wear gloves. It shouldn't mess up your image inducer. We had better make sure, though." He stretches out his hand towards Kurt.

Kurt scoots so he's sitting next to Scott on the bed and takes Scott's hand. Scott realizes with a jolt that it feels nice. He's held people's hands in all kinds of contexts, but none of them ever felt like Kurt's, obviously. Kurt only has three fingers to a hand, so they have to figure out how to hold each other's hands comfortably for each person. Plus, Kurt is soft. He had brushed up against Kurt before, even gotten knocked into him in a couple fights, but he had never gotten a chance to really feel what Kurt's fur felt like. It seemed rude to ask. But now Scott knows that Kurt's fur is almost luxuriously soft, and he rubs his thumb over the top of Kurt's hand to really get a chance to feel it.

"Your image inducer seems fine. Is this okay?" Scott asks, nudging Kurt a little bit as he seems to have drifted off.

"Yeah, this is really good," Kurt says. He scoots a little closer to Scott. The other boy is bigger that he is, and he's at just the right height for Kurt to rest his head on his shoulder when they're sitting together like this, so he does it and looks at Scott. "Is this okay?"

Scott is surprised that he likes the brush of Kurt's hair against his cheek and the way that he can feel his warm breath when he talks. "Yeah, this is good, too, but I think I can make it even better..." he replies before taking his hand out of Kurt's and wrapping his arm around him. He pulls his body a little closer. "Does this seem like it'd be convincing?"

"Yeah, I think everyone will be convinced," he says, and then smiles deviously. "Do you wanna test it out?"

"What?" Scott asks. School isn't until the next day and there isn't a football game tonight.

"Everyone should be hanging out downstairs! We could see how convinced they are," Kurt says. "And then we can come up here and decide some of the other details."

Scott feels a burst of nervousness, but like nervousness before any other mission, Scott can conquer it. "Let's do it, Kurt."

Kurt practically drags him out of bed and rearranges them so they're holding hands again. Scott can wrap his arm around him again later. "Come on then, Liebling!"

Scott feels his face warm at the nickname. He has only the vaguest idea of what it translates to, but he knows its affectionate. Despite his sudden misgiving, he follows Kurt into the main part of the mansion.


	3. Chapter 3

Kurt is a little disappointed by the lack of immediate response as they walk downstairs hand in hand. Scott, on the other hand, is relieved. Sure, he wants to help Kurt, but he doesn't want to cause a scene. Especially since his cheeks are still red from Kurt's nickname.

But this isn't going to satisfy Kurt- he has a point to make after all. He steers them towards the living room, where he practically pushes Scott down on the couch. Scott plops down with a light sigh, and he thinks it's silly. He's faced down all kinds threats without hesitation, but right now he's just letting himself be led around by Kurt without any semblance of control. It's kind of embarrassing, but Scott is out of his depth.

Kurt snuggles close to Scott, and Scott automatically wraps his arm back around him. He turns the television on and rests his head on Scott's chest, laying a hand there as well. Scott is very keenly aware of Kurt, from how he's twisted his body so his tail isn't crushed against the couch to the way that Kurt's fingers move against his chest softly.

The one thing bothering him is that Kurt's image inducer is still on. He usually turns it off after school, but he must have forgotten this afternoon since they had been busy scheming. Scott is about to mention it when Kitty bursts through the television screen. Literally.

"Kitty!" Kurt scolds at the screen fizzles as Kitty phases through it. "You know that you're not supposed to phase through the television." He's very concerned about the welfare of their television.

"Sorry, sorry, I've got a lot of- wait a minute," Kitty pauses and crosses her arms, "What's going on here?"

Kurt smirks and strokes Scott's chest a little for show. "What do mean?" he asks. Although suddenly he's paying a lot less attention to the conversation with Kitty and paying a lot more attention to Scott's chest. He knows that Scott works out and is fit, obviously, but wow, knowing it and running your hand over those pecs are two different stories.

Scott's not entirely sure why Kurt isn't replying to Kitty, but he answers her repeated question instead. "We're dating, and we were watching tv," he says, doing his best to keep his voice steady. How did people sound when they were announcing they were going out? Happy and excited, probably. But he doesn't want to overdo it because he knows that would be suspicious.

"Since when?" Kitty asks, hands on her hips.

"Just a few days ago," Scott says.

"Kurt," Kitty says, frowning at him, "Does this have anything to do with that guy who was bothering you?"

"No..." Kurt says, looking away.

Kitty raises an eyebrow and is about to reply when Evan skateboards in. "What's happen-? Woah!" he says when he sees Kurt and Scott.

"This is apparently how Kurt is dealing with his Derek problem," Kitty says, shaking her head.

"No way!" Evan says. He makes a face. "That is never going to work."

"I know, right?" Kitty replies, not even looking at the two of them.

"It's going to work!" Kurt interjects. "If he thinks I'm dating Scott, there's no way that he can keep asking me to go to the dance with him."

Evan and Kitty turn to argue with him, but Jean appears out of nowhere, rubbing her head. "Can you guys please quiet down? You're thinking way too loudly. Give us the room," she says, looking at Scott and Kurt with concern. Once everyone else has left (with some protest, but Jean is firm), Jean turns to Kurt with a stern look on her face. "We talked about this, Kurt. I thought we agreed that you were going to go talk to the principal about the situation."

"Yeah, well, Derek got to me first and I had to get to class," Kurt replies, looking away, "and then Scott thought finding a real date to be my fake date was a good idea and said yes when I asked him so..." He shrugs. "I like the plan."

Scott tries to keep up. Did everyone in the mansion know about Kurt's problem before he did? Why hadn't Kurt come to him earlier? After all, he is the team leader, and he looks out for his teammates. It's his responsibility, and he genuinely likes to help. Plus, he had thought that he and Kurt were friends, even if they hadn't always seen eye to eye about things.

"I think it's a good plan too," Scott says. "If it goes well, then that kid won't hassle Kurt anymore and he'll have gone undercover, kinda. Good practice. If it doesn't, then nothing will be too badly damaged." Except maybe Scott's pride.

Jean takes a look at them and they both have the feeling she's reading their minds as she smirks. "Fine, good luck on your 'mission.' Just be careful. Having a real boyfriend can be a pain. I can't imagine what having a fake one would be like," she says as she turns to leave.

Scott looks down at Kurt, who smiles up at him. Jean's doom and gloom warning isn't going to phase Kurt. This is a good plan, and Scott had said that he's behind it completely. "Okay, maybe that didn't go as smoothly as I hoped when I dragged you down here, but I think they would have been convinced if they hadn't known something else was up," Kurt says. "I totally almost believed you when you said we were dating. Being extra annoyed because we were also watching tv was an excellent touch."

"Thank you," Scott says. Jean's warnings concern him a little more (listening to Jean has almost always worked out better than not listening to her), but he can't see what the downside could be here, even if they do mess up. "We should keep practicing, though. If we can hold up to their scrutiny, it'll make school easier tomorrow." He wants to ask why Kurt told everyone else about his problem, but he doesn't want to jeopardize the mission if the question upsets Kurt. Or if the answer upsets Scott.

"Good idea. We can blow them away with our coupledom," Kurt says. He laughs a little and slides down until his head is resting in Scott's lap and he's looking up at Scott. Scott's hand has slid along with him so it rests on his stomach. "They'll be awed. Possibly a little grossed out."

"Grossed out?" Scott asks.

"People always find couples gross. Especially cuddly ones," Kurt explains. He looks down to where Scott's hand is on his stomach with a raised eyebrow and then looks back up at Scott. "I think we have that part down pretty well considering we've only been not dating for a few hours."

"You're right," Scott says. He reaches to hold one of Kurt's hands and as he brushes against Kurt's fur he remembers that his image inducer is still on.

Of course, almost everyone ribs and makes fun of the two of them at dinner. Kurt and Scott both take it in stride, but after Kurt leaves to do his homework, Scott gets assurances from everyone that they'll behave during school, at least. They can tease, but under no circumstances can they imply that he and Kurt aren't really dating. Or seriously upset Kurt.

A few hours later, Kurt appears in Scott's room as he's about to get ready to go to bed. "Thank you for doing this," Kurt says, leaping forward to give Scott a quick hug.

Scott barely has time to wrap his arms around Kurt before he teleports away back to his room. He sits down on his bed with a hard thud, trying to collect his suddenly scattered thoughts. Eventually, he gives up and tries to sleep anyway.

Meanwhile, in his own room, Kurt sleeps more soundly than he has in days.


	4. Chapter 4

Kurt's not going to lie, he feels pretty cool when Scott opens the passenger's side door to his car and lets Kurt sit in the front seat of his car. "It'd be weird if my boyfriend was sitting in the backseat," Scott explains as he apologizes to Jean for kicking her out of her usual spot.

Jean just rolls her eyes and sits next to Kitty. "Whatever you say," she says.

Scott drives them as normal, trying to ignore how Kurt has stretched out so one of his hands is resting on Scott's shoulder. It's a warm weight and, of course, it's uniquely Kurt.

Kurt is more than a little nervous when they actually get to school, though. That's when everything can fall to peices. He doesn't spot Derek at all as Scott walks him over to his locker. While Kurt had assured him that walking him to his locker and between classes wasn't neccesary, Scott had argued that that's what he would do if they were actually dating. It wasn't the kind of thing that Kurt was going to argue too strongly.

He tries not to smile too widely as Scott leans against the locker beside Kurt's while Kurt puts his backpack away and gets his books for his first few classes. Kurt doesn't know why Scott is taking it to such extremes, and while it's a little unsettling, he can't say he minds it.

Scott, for his part, is both paying attention to Kurt and scoping out whether or not that kid is around. So far, so good. He watches as Kurt sorts through his book, and like a good boyfriend, puts a smile on his face. It isn't much of an act- Kurt is pretty cute.

When Kurt finishes getting together his books together for his classes, he shuts his locker. He scans the hall quickly and nearly sags in relief when Derek is nowhere to be seen. As much as he's confident in their plan, he would prefer to not actually use it.

He slips his hand into Scott's as they head for his locker. It feels kind of surreal; as much as he's always wanted to date, he could never figure out how it would happen. There are so many issues to consider that part of him had resigned himself to missing out on that particular part of his teenage years. Although, as he has to firmly remind himself, he still isn't actually dating anyone. It's an act.

"Are you sure you don't want me to carry your books for you?" Scott asks, interrupting Kurt's thought process.

Kurt laughs a little and shakes his head. Scott had asked the same thing the night before. "You really don't have to, Scott," he says. "If anything, I should probably be carrying your books. I owe you a pretty big one."

"My books are too heavy; there's no way that I'd ask you to carry them," he says. Scott nudges Kurt and glances down at him, feeling his stomach do a little flop as he looks into Kurt's smiling face. "And you don't owe me anything. You're my teammate." He remembers that he's not just being Kurt's teammate right now and adds quickly, "And more importantly, I care about you."

Kurt leans against the locker next to Scott and tries to hide a grin. He knows that much is true at least. Sometimes he still can't believe that he has friends like Scott and everyone else back at the Institute- people his own age to hang out and form relationships with. Of course, his foster parents had been wonderful, but it hadn't been the same. He had been so lonely for so long.

"I care about you, too," Kurt says.

When Scott grabs his books, Kurt sneakily snatches them from him. He takes a few steps back when Scott swipes at him. "Give them back to me!" Scott exclaims, trying to sound stern instead of flustered. "I told you you didn't have to carry them!"

Kurt dances just out of Scott's reach as he tries to get his books back. He shakes his head, definitely not hiding his smile. It both annoys Scott and does something else to him that he isn't sure what it is. It probably has to do with why he's smiling despite himself instead of scowling at Kurt.

"I want to, though," Kurt says, deftly avoiding Scott's hands. "It's no big deal."

Scott lunges at Kurt and barely misses him. Damn, he's going to have to get Kurt into the danger room to practice because Scott is hopeless against his agility, and that's just unacceptable. Kurt is grinning maddeningly as he jumps back a few steps and crashes into someone behind him.

Both his and Scott's books fall to the floor with several loud thuds. Kurt spins around and blanches as he turns to see Derek standing there with the wind knocked out of him. Whoops.

"'m sorry," Kurt mutters, backing up a few steps. He tries not to be nervous when Derek takes a couple steps towards him.

Scott recognizes the boy who pursued Kurt the day before and leans down to pick up the books Kurt dropped. "I've got them, babe, don't worry," he says. Once he's collected the books, he gathers them in one arm and wraps the other around Kurt, pulling him close. "Sorry about that. Are you alright?" he asks.

"Yeah, it's cool," Derek says. His eye linger on where Scott's hand is resting on Kurt's hip. "I don't think I've met you before."

"I'm Scott Summers. It's a pleasure to meet you," Scott says. He debates whether or not he should shake hands (since that would involve taking his arm off Kurt and he doesn't want to do that), but Derek makes the decision for him when he holds out his hand.

"I'm Derek Richards. I'm one of Kurt's friends," he says. "It's nice to meet you too."

Scott reluctantly removes his arm from Kurt so he can shake Derek's hand. He's gratified as Kurt leans against him and puts his head on his shoulder, making sure they're still physically connected. Kurt does his best to look adoring and boyfriend like, while ignoring the way that Derek is staring at them hard. It makes him a little uncomfortable, but it's better to ignore it.

Scott gives Derek's hand a hard squeeze before letting go and wrapping his arm around Kurt again. His thumb rubs small circles in Kurt's hipbone, which makes Kurt lean against him a little more. Scott doesn't notice because he's too busy staring down Derek with a fake grin plastered to his face. "You're one of Kurt's friends? That's weird, he's never mentioned you before," Scott says.

"Really?" Derek says, looking at Kurt who just shrugs. "Maybe you just don't talk as much as you think."

Kurt feels Scott tense and shift beside him. The hand at his waist tightens a little, and Kurt slides his hand over Scott's. It's too awkward a position for Kurt to hold Scott's hand properly, so he settles for pressing his hand against Scott's. "We haven't been talking very much lately, at least not about school. Since Scott asked me out, we've been busy doing..." Kurt pauses likes he's trying to come up with the right word to explain what he and Scott have been up to. He looks slyly up and Scott and then smiles back at Derek. "Busy doing other things."

Derek's jaw is clenching and unclenching and Kurt feels a rush of supreme satisfaction. He hasn't felt like he's had the upperhand during Derek's pursuit of him in the least, but at the moment he feels secure and he's enjoying it.

Kurt shifts his attention to Scott. "Danke, Liebling, for getting my books," he says.

Scott blushes the same way he did the night before, but he has to keep his cool. Kurt seems cool as can be, after all, and there's no way that Scott is going to mess it up. "No problem," he says. "Do you want to start heading to class?"

The warning bell rings above them, timed almost perfectly. "Sounds like we should," he says. Kurt lets Scott usher them by Derek without another look back. When they're around the corner, Kurt lets a relieved smile break out across his face.

"Wow, Kurt," Scott whispers, leaning close enough that Kurt can feel his breath on his fur. "That was impressive. If we have to go undercover sometime, you're definitely who we're sending in."

The praise makes Kurt glow, just a little. He shouldn't be too surprised- he's undercover all the time, after all- but he values Scott's approval. "Thanks, man. You were good, too. And he looked so pissed," Kurt says. He grins up at Scott and nods at the stack of books that he is carrying. "You managed to get my books anyway."

"Of course. I'm always one step ahead," Scott says smugly. When they reach Kurt's classroom, Scott hands Kurt his books back and Kurt somewhat reluctantly untangles himself from Scott. "Have a good geometry class," Scott says.

"There's no such thing," Kurt moans, suddenly looking a little disraught. "We're getting ready for our midterm and wow, it's tough."

"Luckily for you, geometry is your boyfriend's best subject," Scott says. He squeezes Kurt's hand. "We can study together after school, if you want."

"Really? That's awesome, Scott!" Kurt replies. "I'd really appreciate that."

"We can figure out the details after class, okay? I don't want to be late," Scott says, letting go of Kurt's hand.

"Okay, bye. Have fun in Chemistry. Don't blow anything up," Kurt says, talking to Scott over his shoulder as he darts into the classroom. Scott waves at him before going to his own class.

Those almost become prophetic words half an hour later, when Scott almost pours in the wrong amount of a chemical into their experiment.

"Where is your head today, Summers?" the teacher chides as she grabs his hand. "You just almost blew the lab up."

Scott apologizes profusely and tries to ignore the way he can just feel Jean staring into the back of his head. He's pretty sure that she knows that since he had done this experiment before, he had been fully confident that he could do it again... even not paying complete attention. Even if he had been distracted thinking about how he was going to teach Kurt geometry later. Even if he had been distracted thinking about how well Kurt fit against him.

That had been a distraction too many, apparently.


	5. Chapter 5

"Scott! Scott, wait up!" Jean calls out when class lets out.

Scott tries to slip out the door of their chemistry class as if he hadn't heard Jean, but, unfortunately, she manages to tap his shoulder so he can't possibly get away with pretending. "Hey, Jean," he says, speeding down the hallway anyway.

"What was that?" Jean replies, easily keeping pace with him, much to his dismay.

"What was what?" Scott says innocently.

"You almost blew up the lab. You're nothing if not careful," Jean says.

"Accidents almost happen," Scott replies. He's saved from anymore explanation when he sees Kurt down the hall. Kurt waves at him and immediately darts through the crowd to reach them.

"Hey, Jean! Hi, Scott," Kurt says as he easily grabs Scott's hand. "How was Chemistry?"

Jean makes a face and nods at Scott to answer.

"There was almost a mishap. Nothing major though, no need to worry," Scott says, trying to move on as quickly as possible.

"Oooh, what happened?" Kurt asks, leaning in a little. He does like a little bit of gossip. "Did someone do something really dumb?"

"More like careless," Jean says, smirking as she looks at Scott.

"Scott...?" Kurt asks. He's not sure whether he's interpreting Jean's look right or not. Obviously Scott isn't perfect, but he's very attentive. Their earlier success is proof of that.

"I was thinking about other things, and I got inexcusably sloppy," Scott says stiffly, embarrassed. "It was stupid of me, and it won't happen again."

Jean makes a disbelieving noise next to him and Scott shoots her a glare. He already knows he messed up; she could at least believe in him a little bit.

"Are you okay?" Kurt asks, looking them both over quickly and is relieved when he doesn't see anything too obviously wrong with either of them.

"Yeah, the teacher stepped in before anything too serious happened," Scott says. Kurt still looks concerned, but Scott wants to get off this topic and onto another ASAP. "So, how did Geometry go?"

Kurt's face shifts from concerned to angry in a snap. "Mein Gott, shapes should not be that difficult. Why should I have to prove triangles? If you can't tell it's a triangle, go back to the nursery!" He sounds absolutely indignant as he shakes with rage, and while Scott should defend his favorite subject, he can't help but chuckle a little.

"I'll make sure to put proofs on the list of things to study, okay?" Scott says. He squeezes Kurt's hand a little. For some reason (probably because he's feeling cold), Kurt is wearing gloves inside, and Scott finds he misses the soft brush of Kurt's fur. Darn the cold to heck.

"Study?" Jean asks.

"Ja!" Kurt exclaims, demeanor instantly becoming lighter. "Scott's offered to help me get ready for my midterm!"

"That's nice of him," Jean says evenly, although she's raising an eyebrow at Scott. She looks like she's figured something out, but Scott has no idea what. He doesn't even know if he wants to know, even if it clearly has to do with him.

"It is! Scott makes a very good boyfriend," Kurt says, smiling and nudging Scott with his shoulder.

"Thank you," Scott replies. He wishes that his mutant abilities included being able to control his blush. "I'm trying."

"Yeah you are," Jean mutters under her breath. They pause as they reach a junction in the hallway. "This is where I leave you two lovebirds. Talk to you later."

Both Kurt and Scott say goodbye before she turns down the other hall and they continue on. Kurt swings their arms a little, grinning as he does so. Honestly, the only thing that could make the day better would be if he took the gloves off so he could actually feel Scott's hand pressed in his. That isn't going to happen, though, and he's more than content with his day.

"Do you want to study after dinner tonight? We can use my room," Scott asks.

Kurt is surprised that the prospect of more geometry doesn't dampen his mood at all. In fact, he might actually be looking forward to it, at least a little. While he knows Scott has a tendency to push hard, he also knows that he gets results. They spend a lot of time together in the danger room, after all. "Sounds good to me. I'll bring the snacks," Kurt says.

"Snacks?" Scott asks. He doesn't study with snacks. It seems like an unnecessary distraction.

"Yeah!" Kurt says. "We need our brain food after all, right?"

"I guess..." Scott says. He's still a little unsure, but Kurt flashes an excited grin in reply, so he's stuck. "Just make sure that you bring your textbooks and notebooks too." He has to be at least a little responsible, after all.

"Of course, Liebling. It is a study session, after all," Kurt says. "I'm not completely irresponsible."

"I know, I know," Scott says, "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, I think it's cute," Kurt says. He presses himself against Scott as they squeeze through a crowded part of the hallway. Like the night before, he notices just how fit his fake boyfriend is. "And I think you're cute, too."

Scott sputters and blushes as Kurt pushes him against the lockers. It's just to get by the crowd, he knows, and he also knows that all of the things that Kurt says are to help them keep up appearances. Despite that, he can't help but feel flustered whenever Kurt takes his compliments up an extra level. "You're cute, too," Scott says, sliding his thumb up Kurt's hand and under his sleeve so he could feel the soft fur there.

Kurt feels his stomach flip flop painfully and his good mood dissipates quickly. He tries not to show it as he withdraws his hand from Scott's and tugs down his sleeve so his fur is nice and covered up. "Thanks, Scott," he tries to sound as genuine as possible.

Scott catches onto the shift in Kurt's mood and withdraws immediately. He tries to search Kurt's face for any clue about what happened, but he doesn't have telepathy unfortunately. He wonders if Kurt had spotted Derek and had gotten spooked, but a quick look around shows Scott that Derek is nowhere to be found. Did he do something wrong? That had to be it. What could be wrong with letting Kurt know he's cute, though?

They walk the rest of the way to Kurt's class in silence. Kurt wants to say something, but he doesn't want to ruin the mood anymore than he already has, and Scott doesn't want to upset Kurt further. When they reach the classroom, Scott says a quick farewell to Kurt and speed walks to his next class.

He spends yet another class distracted, but this time he doesn't almost blow anything up (History is low-key like that) and he's not having as much fun. Thinking about geometry teaching methods is far more fun than thinking about what he did to upset his fake boyfriend. Since Scott had eliminated all other variables, he knows that he had to have been the cause of Kurt's sudden mood shift. It isn't the first time that Scott has carelessly upset someone either- he's kind of used to it. The problem is, as always, figuring out what he did and how he can make it right.

The entire class passes, and he still has no idea. All he did was call Kurt cute. Maybe it means something different in German than in English. But Kurt had said it, too! He sighs as he gets up and walks to Kurt's classroom, still clueless. He can be straightforward and ask Kurt. They can have everything sorted out before lunch.

Except, when Scott meets Kurt in front of his classroom, Kurt practically bounces out of his room and plasters himself to Scott's side. He's smiling wide as can be as he slips his hand into Scott's, and Scott is worried for a second that Kurt is going to leap right into his arms. There's no trace of the upset Kurt was feeling earlier. It's as if he hadn't been upset at all as he leans his head against Scott's shoulder.

"Miss me?" Kurt asks. He hopes he hadn't done too much damage earlier when Scott had surprised him. Now that he's collected himself, he has no intention of letting Scott know just how unusual he had made him feel.

"Of course, babe," Scott says. Maybe he can ask later.

The rest of the morning goes smoothly. Scott is nervous about lunch, though. Kurt leads the way, by far the more confident of the two. He pulls Scott down next to him and smiles at everyone since they've stopped eating to stare at the two of them.

"They're really doing it," Kitty says, laughing and shaking her head. "I cannot believe it."

"Can't believe what?" Scott asks, letting a little sternness creep into his voice. They had a deal after all- no one is allowed to hint their relationship isn't real. "What a hot couple we make?" He can practically feel both Kitty and Jean eye rolling at him.

"Sure," Jean says.

"We are pretty hot, especially together," Kurt says, clearly checking Scott out.

"Please tell me you're not going to get all mushy at lunch," Evan says, making a face. "You know, cuddling and kissing and all that stuff."

"Public displays of affection are strictly-"

"Hey, maybe we are," Kurt interrupts Scott. He grins devilishly as he runs his fingers through Scott's hair and presses himself as close to him as possible given their positions. Luckily for him, he's super flexible so he manages to press his entire chest against Scott's strong arms. He's pretty sure he could leave kisses on Scott's neck if he wants- but that's something he really should discuss with Scott before actually doing. His grin only gets wider as Scott jumps a little in surprise. "I'm very into my boyfriend, after all. He's so dreamy." Kurt draws out the 'so' and flutters his eyelashes.

Evan, Kitty, and Jean all make annoyed faces. Scott, on the other hand, tries hard to ignore how warm Kurt's breath is on his neck. Honestly, it's relatively easy to ignore because for the first time, he's getting an up close and personal feel of how well toned his friend is. Kurt is so slim that Scott had no idea just how much muscle he had been hiding under his clothes and image inducer. Quite a bit, apparently.

Scott realizes that he needs to say something in reply. After fumbling over his thoughts for a few seconds, he smiles at Kurt. There's a scary part of him that wants to lean over and close the small space between them. He doesn't do that, but he does pull Kurt a little closer to him, hand splayed possessively against his back. "You're pretty dreamy yourself, babe. Almost too cute to be real." Scott can feel the way that the muscles of Kurt's back move as he shifts at Scott's words. He genuinely does think that Kurt looks cute, even when he has his image inducer on.

Kurt is glad that Scott thinks his image induced self is cute. It's better than having to fake date someone unattractive, after all. The reminder that even his appearance is a lie stings a little, though. But it's just the honest truth and he isn't going to hold it against Scott.

"You guys are gross," Evan says, miming vomiting.

Kitty is staring at them in absolute revulsion. "Seriously, if I had known how gross you guys were going to be, I would have found some way to stop this before it got to this grossness."

Kurt fake gasps and slides smoothly into Scott's lap. He leans back, relaxing against Scott. "Kitty Pryde, are saying you want to steal my boyfriend?" There's no way he can lie: there's part of him that's enjoying the spectacle of all this. Not that people are staring, per se, but they are noticing. And that's not even counting his friends' hilarious reactions.

"Face it, Kitty, there's no way the rest of us can win here," Jean says, stifling a laugh. "Because I don't think that you want to date either of these two."

Scott gently runs his fingers down so he can hold Kurt's hand under the table. Having Kurt on top of him like this makes him a little uncomfortable, but that's because he's nervous about getting in trouble about public displays of affection. That worry seems far less important when he notices Derek glaring at them from a few tables over. He decides it's time to be super dating, no matter what his worries about teachers seeing him are. People break this rule all the time, right?

"Doesn't matter you want to date him or not, ladies," Scott says, resting his head on Kurt's shoulder as he wraps his arms around his waist. "I snatched him up first, after all."

"Ja!" Kurt exclaims. He keeps leaning against Scott easily, tilting his head so their cheeks won't brush despite their closeness. When he sees that Derek is watching them, he gives a little wave before closing his eyes half way as if he's about to fall asleep right there on Scott's lap. It isn't actually that comfortable a position, but he hopes it looks good. "And I'm gonna stay snatched by Scott, no doubt about it."

Just as Evan is about to fake vomit at them again, they hear shouting. "Wagner! Summers!"

The both of them jump to attention, and Kurt almost forgets to keep his tail inside his image inducer. Scott still has his arms around him, and Kurt is still in Scott's lap when one of the lunch monitors walks over to them. "This is completely inappropriate behavior for school! Get off of him!"

Kurt winces and reluctantly gets off of Scott's lap as the man continues to yell at them. He notices that Scott has turned pale, and he can't lie: he feels bad. Scott isn't a trouble-maker like him; he's always been a good (and well behaved) student. Getting yelled at, especially in public, must be terrible for him. Part of him wants to squeeze his hand, but under the circumstances, that probably isn't the brightest idea.

What he can do is glare at Kitty and Evan as they laugh at them. Kurt does't mind being yelled at like that too much, but he can tell that it's bothering Scott. There's nothing they can do, though, other than sit there and take it, for what feels like the rest of the lunch period.


	6. Chapter 6

"I still can't believe that you managed to get us out of that without the both of us getting detention," Kurt raves as he pops another chip in his mouth. "It was impressive."

Scott shrugs, hopefully nonchalantly. He still feels embarrassed by the public shake down, but he doesn't want Kurt to feel bad. It's only kind of his fault, after all. "The perks of being a straight-A student with a clean record," he replies. "Plus that our after school plans were studying anyway helped."

"I'm pretty sure that if I had said that, she wouldn't have believed me," Kurt mumbles.

"Well, maybe once you're a straight-A student, she will," Scott replies.

The thought of that ever happening made Kurt laugh. "I don't think that's something we'll get to test out," he says.

"Why not? You're smart. Look at everything we've worked through already," Scott gestures towards the stack of used notebooks. "And this is your dreaded, least favorite subject. Imagine if it was something you were excited about."

Kurt looks towards the notebooks with a dramatic sigh. "I guess we should get back to it..." Study breaks couldn't last forever. As much as Kurt might like them too.

"Excellent idea, Kurt!" Scott is pleased by Kurt taking the initiative. Last break, he had practically had to drag him back to geometry. He grabs the notebook that they had been working out of before the break and scoots around next to Kurt.

As he explains the next portion of the lesson to Kurt, he realizes that despite having been home for hours, his image inducer is still on. Thinking back on the last day or so, Scott realizes that he hasn't actually seen Kurt since they started fake dating, only his image induced self. It bothers him greatly.

So Scott reaches down to press the button on the image inducer, trying to be casual about it. "You forgot to turn this off..."

Kurt abruptly snatches his hand away and scoots away a few inches. "That's okay, man," he says. "You don't have to turn it off if you don't want to."

"What do you mean?" Scott says. "Don't you usually keep it off around here?"

"Well, yeah," Kurt replies. He doesn't want to wear the image inducer out, after all.

"Then why not turn it off now?" Scott asks, and then his eyes narrow (not that Kurt can see it behind his glasses), "Has someone been hassling you about your appearance?" Anyone around the mansion who has a problem with how Kurt looks could either keep it to themselves or else deal with Scott. Then again, considering how Scott had been completely in the dark about Kurt's problem at school, Kurt might not tell him if there was a problem.

"What? No, no," Kurt says as he flicks the image inducer off by himself. He looks dejected. "Everyone around here is great."

"Then what's the problem?" Scott asks, scooting a little closer so he can see Kurt better. He's pleased to see his friend's real face again.

Kurt lets Scott get a little closer to him, even if a large part of him wants to retreat to the roof where Scott can't follow him. "I know that you don't, you know, actually want to date me. You're just doing it to help me out. It's not something I can really pay you back for, but I can at least make it a little better for you. Be normal," Kurt explains. "That's the least I can do." He's curled in on himself, easily balanced on the balls of his feet, clearly ready to bolt at a moment's notice.

"Kurt..." Scott is shocked that Kurt would think that was necessary at all. Sure, he had been startled the first time they had met, but Scott thought he had shown Kurt that he knew that he had been wrong. "I care about you, a lot, no matter what you look like."

Flicking the image inducer back on, Kurt unfurls himself a little. He still feels like bolting, but now only to the ceiling, not to the roof. It's progress. "But would you rather that I look like this?" he asks. "It's okay if you do. I won't mind." That much. It's understandable.

"No, Kurt, it's not okay at all," Scott says. As careful as he can, considering the unsteady mix of emotions rushing through him, Scott takes Kurt's hand in his. He watches Kurt's face to make sure what he is doing is alright. The first thing he does is turn the image inducer off. Then, he gently removes the glove and sets it aside, so he can run his thumb over one of Kurt's knuckles. "This is you, Kurt. This is how I like you best because this is how you're the most… _you_. I understand why you need to use the image inducer when we're at school, but you don't have to hide in your own home, especially not from me."

Kurt swallows hard around a lump that had formed in his throat. That had been unexpected. He smiles widely and scoots a little closer to Scott. "Then I guess I don't need it here."

"You definitely don't," Scott says, smiling right back at him. He's so pleased that Kurt both believes him and seems like he's going leave the image inducer off. Kurt is cuter this way. As Kurt takes off the other glove, Scott eyes it suspiciously. "Wait a second..."

Kurt hesitates. "You, uh, don't like my hands? I can leave these on." It would be a weird line to draw, but who is Kurt to complain?

"I do, but I just realized. This is why you were upset earlier, wasn't it? Because I touched your fur," Scott says.

"I thought you were gonna be grossed out," Kurt says as he takes off the other glove to the side. Then he shakes his hands out a little bit. "Not going to lie, it's been too hot to wear gloves comfortably." Plus his modified gloves are not the most comfortable thing he's ever worn. He made them himself and he is not a very good seamstress.

"You're not gross. Actually, your fur is really nice and soft," Scott says, holding Kurt's hand again.

"Really?" Kurt asks, squeezing his hand tight. Not being disgusted by his fur was one thing, but Kurt hadn't expected Scott to like it. "You like it?"

"Yeah!" Scott says. "I like all the things that make you you! Your sense of humor, the color of your eyes, the slight responsible streak you've been developing, your fangs, your bravery, and, of course, your tail. Like, seriously, your tail is super cool."

One of the benefits of being blue and furry is that, while his face is heating up, Kurt is pretty sure that Scott can't tell. "It is cool," he agrees. It's the one part of his appearance that he wishes he could keep in public. He circles Scott's forearm with his tail, full of happiness when Scott smiles encouragingly at him. So he scoots a little closer and uses his tail to poke at Scott's side playfully.

Scott shivers and laughs a little. "That tickles and it feels nice." He's surprised at how light and gentle Kurt's touch is. There are a lot of words that Scott associates with Kurt- light and gentle had never made that list until now.

"I'm glad you like it," Kurt says. He places the flat of his tail against Scott's cheek.

"It's so soft," Scott marvels. "Even softer than your hands." He runs his fingers over it, making sure to go with the fur, not against it.

"Skin feels different on different parts of the body. Fur's the same. At least mine is," Kurt explains. "I can't speak for anyone else who may have fur."

Scott reaches out and strokes Kurt's cheek. It's a little rougher, but still plenty soft. Suddenly, he wonders how Kurt's lips would feel against his own. Probably incredible. They're close enough that it would only take a second to find out. So he leans in a little bit to close the little bit of empty space between them.

Obviously, Kurt's lips aren't furry, but there's fuzz around them. From all the sitcom complaints he's heard about beard burn, he had expected that to be painful. Maybe Kurt's fuzz is softer than most other people's- Scott doesn't know and honestly? He doesn't care. Because Kurt has slid his tail down to Scott's waist to pull them closer together, and now Scott can feel the press of Kurt's body against his.

Kurt is trying hard to take all of it in. It's not every day that you get kissed for the first time. He likes the way that Scott puts his other hand on his face so that Kurt is just surrounded by him. It helps keep him focused on actually kissing Scott back.

When they break apart, Kurt beams at Scott, breathing heavily. Scott realizes that he's still holding Kurt's face, so he reluctantly lets go, unsure what to do with his hands. He decides to cross his arms, hoping they'll provide him with some kind of refuge from Kurt's bright face and his own wild emotions. While kissing Kurt may have answered his initial question, it's also raised a few more questions that Scott doesn't know how to answer. Or even how to begin to figure out an answer.

Kurt doesn't notice Scott's uptight posture- he's on cloud nine. After all, since Scott had kissed him away from everyone else, it had to mean something. It had at least brought Kurt closer to untangling his own formerly confused emotions. Now he knows that whatever he has been feeling has been real and genuine, not brought on by the act he and Scott had been putting on for everyone else. Kurt still isn't sure what he's feeling, exactly, but it's good. It's good, it's genuine, and Kurt is more than willing to leave it at that for now.

Scott wishes he could leave, but he still has to instruct Kurt in geometry. Kiss or not, weird feelings or not, he still has his responsibilities. Trying to sound as in charge as possible, he leans over to the notebook they had been using and says, "Finding the area of a trapezoid might seem daunting, but if you break it up, it really is simple-"

He's cut off by Kurt's laugh. "You're always right to the point, aren't you, Liebling?" he asks, his voice flowing languidly, as if he's half asleep and waking up from a very nice dream.

Scott tries to sound just as relaxed as he forces laughter in reply.

He's not prepared for Kurt's response.

"It's one of the many things I appreciate about you."

He's even less ready for the way that Kurt brushes his lips against Scott's cheek as he settles next to Scott for the next part of his lesson.


End file.
